Ms. Maria has philanthropic funds for you (scam alert)

This is an example of a typical charity “mystery scam” message, and it has probably been sent to tens of thousands of random people in the last few days. “Ms. Maria” wants to share her funds with you — but why? And who is she? It’s a mystery.

Actually, it’s not a mystery. “Ms. Maria” is just a scammer trying to find a way to get you on the hook so she can eventually pick your pocket.

Our Allies

Important Note

Please be aware that scammers often use the names of real people and legitimate businesses in their fraudulent messages. Why? To lend an air of legitimacy to their criminal enterprise. Just because the name of a real person or a real bank or a real government agency appears in a scam message that doesn't mean the person or organization in question is involved in the scam in any way. The scammers are just stealing these names in order to make themselves look legitimate.